


Why Not Tonight?

by 99CANDY



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Canon Compliant, Confessions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28444761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/99CANDY/pseuds/99CANDY
Summary: Donghyuck [4:22pm]mark if you are trying to spend more time with me, I don't think having mesmell like sweat in your room is the right moveMark [4:23pm]then let me come over. ill wait for you. who cares.ill be bored on my phone.or idk, u have a computer. ill use it.that fine?
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 16
Kudos: 432
Collections: Markhyuck Week 2021





	Why Not Tonight?

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy and leave comments and kudos, they are very much appreciated!!  
> Thank you!
> 
> ( Sorry for any errors )

**Mark [10:31pm]**  
U got a minute?  


**Donghyuck [10:33pm]**  
Everything cool? Kind of busy with something, but I can come over.  
r u alone?  


**Mark [10:40pm]**  
yeahh im alone.  
I'm fine, dont rush.  
but yeah come.  


**Donghyuck [10:42pm]**  
k, gonna rinse off in the shower  
then ill be over  


—

Donghyuck trips over four different slopes in the carpeted hallways as he makes his way up to Mark’s floor. His cold fingers shove into the pockets of his jeans, still sticking against his dampened thighs, wet and uncomfortable while he tries to air them out. It’s his skinniest pair, one that was inside out and all the way across his bedroom, probably smelling like last week. But when it comes down to it, he favors these jeans over anything he owns, they’re stretchy and warm and not to mention snug against every inch of his legs. 

He is aware of how good he looks in the piece of clothing, so he opts for them every time he needs something to wear. Even if it is approximately eleven in the evening and even if he is just on his way to hang out with Mark.

Arriving in Mark’s room feels like a secret to him. He’s slipping past doors and darting his own eyes around, greeting Mark right on the other side of the door in a voice just barely above a whisper. He talks like he has just wandered off to meet a secret lover of his, hands covering atop of Mark’s as he’s pulled past the door, thigh still drying while their fingers intertwine into a simple and silent handshake to greet each other. 

The silence is typical upon entry, especially when Donghyuck is unaware of why Mark has called him into the room at such late notice, no alarms on his tongue or worries beaming through his language. Donghyuck fears that he has unpleasant news to bear, or maybe something to admit, reaching that assumption when his eyes narrow in on the way Mark’s nails sink into his fists at his sides. 

It’s not particularly an action that Donghyuck perks up at, but when he toes off his shoes, thoughts race through his mind and jump too far before he can even ask Mark about anything going on. 

“I’m glad you’re here,” Mark collapses back onto the bed. “I wanted to watch another episode of Narcos with you. We fucked up our schedule of watching two a week since we were busy on Monday.”

Every twisted wad of tension in Donghyuck’s shoulders coils hard before it bursts at the seams, spilling relief through his entire body. He sighs so loud that Mark looks up from his phone until he furrows his eyebrows and widens one of his eyes—the right one.

“You alright?” Mark asks him. “You literally look so stiff that I feel like I could kick my foot out and shove you down and you'd break into a million pieces.”

It's the hint of a smile on his face that makes Donghyuck drop even more of that tension.

"Geez, thanks for that. Kick me into a million tiny pieces Mark, do it, I dare you," Donghyuck teases him. "I'd still haunt you, y'know."

"I'd be down."

Donghyuck laughs softly. It's more of a giggle, light and airy and all through his nose. Donghyuck always laughs just shy of something loud, lips moving into that crescent that would have every member around him breaking into smiles and reaching forward to pinch at the skin of his cheeks. It's natural for anyone to coo at Donghyuck and his grins.

"I just swore that something was going to be wrong," Donghyuck says from the end of the bed, his knee just short from the comforter. "You scared me."

He's laughing again. Chest out and shoes now discarded to the floor.

"Oh," Mark tucks an arm behind his head. "Should I have specified? You always just... come over. Ha, my bad."

Donghyuck shakes his head.  _ Of course _ .  _ Mark never thinks twice about stuff like this.  _ He just lies back in bed and stares at his phone like he didn't just make Donghyuck go red in the face with pure worry.

"So, the episode? Are we gonna pull up the next one or what?" Donghyuck crawls up the bed until throws himself right next to Mark, staring at the message app he is on. "Oh, who are you texting?"

"Johnny," Mark points. "He said he kind of wanted to watch it too. He caught up to where we are, so I was going to offer my room in case he wanted to come. Was he busy?"

As Mark tilts his head, Donghyuck sees simplicity.

Mark is curious and his eyes are wide with wonder, just waiting for Donghyuck to answer the simple question that he has asked. There's no lines of stress on his forehead, no tense muscles like Donghyuck knows he has.

Donghyuck doesn't think that he can offer anything other than a furrow of his eyebrows. His muscles come tight together as he breathes through his nose. He knows there's no reason for him for his body to react like this over a simple question, a simple voice in front of him. Yet all Donghyuck can think about is how Mark's eyes are on his phone. A tiny ache at the center of Donghyuck's rib cage can go so far, can stretch to such long angles.

"He was just working on something on his computer,” Donghyuck looks away from Mark’s phone, fiddling oddly with his fingertips, picking at his nails. 

Mark hums in response to that, mumbling about how now Johnny’s not replying. 

A part of Donghyuck wants to reach forward and grab the phone from Mark’s hand so he can flip it upside down and stare at Mark until he gets the hint. But when Donghyuck chases the thought around his head once more, he realizes that it isn't his place.

“Invite him,” Donghyuck says  _ too  _ forward, sliding down until his hair smashes against the pillow case behind him. 

Mark catches the turn of his words.

It curves so hard that it's enough to bring Mark into a frown.

“What’s up?” Mark rests his phone on his stomach. “Yo, is something wrong?”

Mark has always been caring like this. 

He has always been full and wide eyes ready to drink in every word that Donghyuck's lips will drip. He'll scan over Donghyuck’s face like he wants to memorize and copy it to paste it everywhere. Donghyuck doesn’t particularly need to say anything, but the rush of guilt in his chest will eat away at him if he doesn’t talk to Mark. If he doesn't communicate thoroughly with him.

“Do you remember what you told me the other night?” Donghyuck finally admits. 

A furrow in Mark’s eyebrows arrives. It’s clueless.

_ Damn. _ Donghyuck swallows the regret and rushes to fix any brewing feelings in his chest.

“Nah, nevermind, it—”

“—No, dude, what did I say? Did I text you something? We’ve been so busy that I must’ve forgotten,” Mark turns until he is up on his hip. “Please?”

A sigh. Donghyuck releases a single, very long sigh as his eyelids flutter to a close.

“I am going to sound like the biggest dick when I say this,” he begins, running the flat part of his palm over his face. “But you told me you wanted to spend more time alone... with me.”

If Donghyuck hadn’t known defeat before, he finds it clear and written silently into the course of Mark’s face. Seeing it like this almost turns him inside out. Mark purses his lips together and taps the tip of his tongue to his upper lip a couple of times. He props his elbow up and lets his phone fall to the mattress between them. 

“And I totally fucked this up because I tried to invite Johnny, right?” Mark smiles sadly.

He’s tired. It’s late.

Donghyuck doesn’t feel good about where they’re leading. 

“Mark,” Donghyuck brings his knees to his chest because he’s cold. “Johnny is our friend. It’s okay if you want to invite our friend over.”

He’s serious about it too. He loves Johnny. Having both Johnny and Mark in the room has Donghyuck’s cheeks going red and his ears burning while their laughter chokes in their throats. 

Donghyuck huffs, eyes narrowing at the phone that buzzes between them. Mark doesn’t try to see who is messaging him. They both know that it’s Johnny. Maybe he’s replying with an agreed response that he’ll come over and squish between them to watch the new episode up on Mark’s laptop. Or maybe he’s kindly turning him down and telling him he’s too tired and just drained from practicing earlier in the day. Maybe he’s soaked with water from the shower and ready to call it a night—surely he’s going to spend the next few hours playing games and drinking something that’ll have his heart thumping against his ribcage, but Donghyuck doesn’t blame him. He does it too. 

Mark blinks heavily at Donghyuck, pushing his bottom lip out.

“Hyuck,” Mark opts for the nickname, making Donghyuck’s spine loosen a tad. “I keep my word, you know that. I just... I just forgot. I’m sorry.”

A roll of his body has Donghyuck curling into Mark’s side. He’s perched half on top of him, seeing skin and emotion and feeling all his warmth. A hitch of breath catches on Mark’s lips, but he doesn’t hold it back. Not with Donghyuck.  _ Never with him.  _

“Dude,” Mark says, his arms flat at his side, not giving in to the touch.

“Bro,” Donghyuck mocks him, pulling his face so far back that he feels a stretch in his neck. 

Donghyuck can tell that Mark wants to trace his arms up so he can keep Donghyuck stable. A brush at the lowest part of his spine, a palm up the widest part of his back. Or, maybe he doesn’t want to touch him at all, but the arms dead at his side look and feel awkward to both of them. 

Mark should be able to understand what Donghyuck is doing. He’s giving his best effort to loosen up the stress in Mark’s body. 

Mark hums at him.

“It’s okay,” Donghyuck chases the guilt away in his own chest, hoping that it doesn’t stay for long. He just wants to spend a lot of time with Mark in his bed, his room, his space, his mind. “Forget about it.”

_ If only Mark could _ , Donghyuck thinks. A thought could choke Mark and he'd stare it dead in the eye and let it.

This is Mark. Tight-lipped and rosy-cheeked Mark. Furrowed eyebrows, scrunched up nose and tired eyes Mark. Donghyuck watches him from afar, always on a search for an additional detail to pick out from him.

He pretends to tease Mark sometimes, telling him that his shirt is on backwards. 

Mark will stumble off to the bathroom with cheeks warmer than Donghyuck has ever seen them. 

Doyoung rolls his eyes at Donghyuck, but Jaemin laughs. Sungchan cocks an eyebrow up at him in amusement while Donghyuck sends him a wink, running off after Mark to apologize with a jutted out lip and eyes that read,  _ I’m so sorry, can I buy you ice cream to make it up to you? _

But now, with different walls around them, Donghyuck hopes that Mark will at least let out a breath and cling back onto him, stuffing his nose into his neck so he can relax. 

“Okay,” Mark finally sighs. “Yeah, alright. Fine. You win.”

Donghyuck props one of his elbows up near Mark’s side. He rests lazily, but intends to have Mark look at him, eyes shifting with wonder and curiosity that turn slightly to ease, something that Donghyuck does often.

"Yeah?" Donghyuck bites on the edge of his lip. "I win?"

Mark's eyes glance down to his phone. "Sure, yeah. I'm sorry though, you get that?"

Through the air that begins to thin out, Donghyuck collapses right on Mark's chest.

Soon he's listening to the sounds of a tough grunt that puff out and then seize from Mark's lips. A giggle comes next, as expected from Mark. His hands finally come down to touch Donghyuck's lower back, nose disappearing into the crevasse of his neck, taking a deep breath of whatever Donghyuck is smelling like.

He's hoping the fragrance of his body wash that he's been scrubbing himself with at night, and sometimes in the morning when he has the time, is noticeable from where Mark is hiding.

"I get it," Donghyuck hugs him.

It's rare that Mark holds him this tight. He prefers quick hugs and a lot of eye contact. He searches for emotion back through everyone's expression while Donghyuck prefers understanding people through the touches.

He can literally feel how apologetic Mark is through the way his fingers graze along his upper back, and the way his heel bumps up and down the mattress in words that he cannot say.

There's always been a throbbing underneath's Donghyuck's skin, near his heart. He knows what others are feeling and it always has been this way. Even when they were young and working through training in the company, Mark would glare at Donghyuck like he was trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Meanwhile, Donghyuck's hands would latch onto Mark, along with many others, feeling stress through a simple touch, understanding everything they couldn't say.

As time continued, Mark understood who Donghyuck's character was, and therefore both of them learned each other's way of speaking, of understanding, spoke each other's languages when it was just the two of them, touching and staring, huddled together on the same bed, falling asleep under the same moon.

Donghyuck wedges himself higher up on Mark's chest and just blinks up into his eyes, straining them slightly from the angle he is at.

Mark hardly looks good from the position Donghyuck is seeing him in. He's still frowning, face is still twisted down, but Mark has a light behind his eyes. He grins too, taking his finger and pushing it right in the center of Donghyuck's forehead. 

"—Barely can see you, Hyuck," he mutters, stretching his neck even further back until he is letting the crown of his head hit against the back of the headboard. 

He says it like he wants to see Donghyuck.

Maybe desperation has him and is encouraging him to take that leap and dive further into Donghyuck's eyes until he's loosening up when he sees that Donghyuck is feeling okay.

_ It's not a big deal. I'm over it. It was never something I was whining about in the first place. _ There are so many things that Donghyuck wants to tell him, but he pushes further down Mark's chest and presses his ear to the side of Mark's ribs, where he can only hear a slight rattle of the older boy's heart. 

His pulse is thick and warm and beating against Donghyuck's ear, and it's a wave of relief that Donghyuck feels as he listens to it. Mark's heart. So delicate. So sweet.

For a moment, they pause their movements. 

Their hands and breaths shatter to a close. 

The wind even seems to slow down in speed when Donghyuck's cheek nearly rubs raw against the thin material of Mark's shirt. 

Times like these never lead to a calm rest of the night. It's never cuddling and then comfort, never relaxation and then sleep. There's always a stressful picking up of their emotions as they go back and forth before they finally realize that something is off.

And for that exact reason, Donghyuck doesn't want Mark to feel like they're crossing into a path they shouldn't. He opens his mouth. 

"You gonna turn the episodes on, or what?" He chuckles.

Mark stutters next. In his heartbeat and in his breath. He stumbles in his words when he sits up a little. 

For something like this, Donghyuck doesn't dare to turn and look at him. He knows that Mark's eyes will be on the wider side, cheeks raising to a blush as his fingers squeeze together, scrambling to find his laptop. 

"Right here," Donghyuck reaches for it, biting on the edge of his lip as he hands it to Mark. 

"Thanks," Mark clicks his tongue. "Yeah, yeah, thanks."

He's opening his account and finding the episode for them to stream, his phone still buzzing, still turned upside down on the mattress between them. 

He doesn't check it. Not for the entire night that Donghyuck is over.

—

Two days later, when Donghyuck is covered in sweat and panting with both fists pressed to his knees, bent over in the practice room with his tongue sticking out, he notices that Mark stares at him. 

At first, he doesn't think much of it. 

He sends a haphazard wave Mark's way and bends further over his own legs, shaking his head from side to side as he takes the water bottle from Sungchan's hands. He stands up a second later, cocking his head to the side when he observes the smirk across Sungchan's face. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Donghyuck cannot screw his bottle cap on correctly and shoves it at the boy in front of him, glaring when Sungchan just raises an eyebrow and shifts his gaze Mark's direction. 

Sungchan is covered in sweat too, his hoodie probably making things a lot worse for him.  _ It's for fashion,  _ he tells everyone.  _ Bullshit,  _ Donghyuck shoots back.  _ He just wants to sweat more, and that's a fact.  _

Regardless, Donghyuck is glaring at Sungchan and his outfit. He can't help but notice the posture and the way he's tilting toward Mark. 

"What?" He hisses lower. "Stop that. Stop that right now. What is it?"

"He's literally trying to get your attention."

"No, he's not," Donghyuck shoots back at him, still out of breath as he reaches for the water to dip his tongue into again.

It's room temperature, not Donghyuck's favorite, but still something that he's ready to pour down his throat and rain the rest over his head when he gets close to the end. 

"I dare you to check your phone right now," Sungchan leans against the side of the wall. 

This time, Donghyuck pulls a face. A full, disgusted face that proves he has absolutely no interest in what Sungchan is trying to say to him regarding Mark. 

"Why would I do that?" 

"Because I know good and well that Mark is trying to text you," Sungchan stands proud this time, like he's just added the final cherry to a pie. As if Donghyuck eats pie. _ Gross.  _ "Just look at him, Hyuckie, he keeps flipping his phone around like he's trying to get you to check it."

Donghyuck glances up at Mark.

His lips are pursed together, he's chatting with Ten, giggling between Sicheng and Yangyang on the opposite side of the room. 

"He's changing the music," Donghyuck doesn't struggle to say. 

"Ha. Alright."

Over the years, Donghyuck has learned so much about Mark.

So many things, such tiny details.  _ This _ is one of them. 

The taps on his phone are a silent way for him to reach out to Donghyuck, to tell him where exactly he wants him.

Maybe Sungchan is better at reading these than Donghyuck is. 

When Donghyuck reaches down into his bag to grab his phone, he's finally met with some text messages from Mark. He doesn't check to see what they say, he just notices that Mark's name is written across the screen, accompanied by the few emojis he has given to him. 

"Was I right?" Sungchan doesn't pry, but stands back and crosses his arms. 

Donghyuck doesn't give him the pride that'll float him. Instead, he tilts his lips into a little frown and shakes his head. 

"No, it's my mom," he mumbles. "She wants me to call her after we're finished."

After telling Sungchan that everything is okay, he watches the boy later become caught up in conversation with another member. While he's busy, Donghyuck's eyes raise up to meet Mark, who only stares back at him with a pleading look. 

He doesn't wait any longer to read the text messages. 

**Mark [4:03pm]**  
can we hang out later  
please  
donghyuck?  
do you wanna watch something again  
after practice? do u wanna do something together?  
we can just chill  
in my room  
or if johnny's not busy, your room?  
let me know  
please okay?  


  
Donghyuck _has_ to smirk.  


**Donghyuck [4:21pm]**  
Mark geez...  
yeah i dont have any plans after this, but i should probably get a shower in before i hang out anywhere 

  
Donghyuck looks up at Mark. He's staring so intently down at his phone that Donghyuck almost thinks he might fear the concept of Donghyuck showering—or smelling, or whatever it is.  


**Mark [4:22pm]**  
no, it's fine  
i've got a shower  


**Donghyuck [4:23pm]**  
mark if you are trying to spend more time with me, I don't think having me smell like sweat in your room is the right move  


**Mark [4:23pm]**  
then let me come over. ill wait for you. who cares.  
ill be bored on my phone.  
or idk, u have a computer. ill use it.  
that fine?  


  
There's a jump in Donghyuck's chest. A rise in the amount of beats.  


**Donghyuck [4:24pm]**  
ok ok ok  
that's fine, mark  


Mark has made a success.

He has brought a blush to Donghyuck's cheeks in front of the entire practice room. One that cannot even be held back by the curled up fists he has placed at the warmth on his skin. Donghyuck even tugs his lip between his teeth as he glares down at his phone, wondering if Mark was going to send another text. In his chest grows wonder. Quick and fast beating wonder.

Mark doesn't send anything else. Donghyuck shoves his phone away.

Over an hour later, when everything ends, Donghyuck stands covered in sweat. 

It's dripping so far down his shins he thinks his ankles have swirls in the leg hair there. It's odd and it's disgusting, but he chuckles to himself and doesn't shove Jeno off when he wraps his arm over Donghyuck's shoulder. 

"Are you gonna come over to our room and watch a movie with us?" He asks, dark hair sticky to his temples. 

At first Donghyuck wants to frown at him. He wants to ask him what he means, or why he is asking it suddenly. It's the first time Donghyuck has heard of a movie night between the few of them. 

"A movie? With who?" 

Donghyuck feels ridiculous asking.  _ "Who's going?"  _ As if he's trying to avoid someone, or debating his arrival based on someone's appearance. He sighs when Jeno nudges him. 

"Just the dream members," he speaks like Donghyuck is supposed to know or something. 

Is he?

Did he even check his other messages when Mark had texted him? Or did he go right to Mark's with no other intention to see if maybe his mom really wanted to talk to him? 

"Like," Donghyuck nearly misses the tall step into the hall. "Mark too?"

He's concerned when he speaks. They have  _ plans.  _ This time Donghyuck isn't upset that they're being ruined or anything. He's just more concerned that Mark is going to have a scowl written across his face from how needy he was to head right into Donghyuck's room after they wrapped up practice. 

When Donghyuck turns his head to look at Mark, he gets an eye full of his lips. They're pulled tight and his eyes aren't glossy as they should be. They're darker, warmer, hinted with something that tells Donghyuck he wants to smirk. Mark nods at him, clearly overhearing their conversation.

"Yeah," Jeno answers. "Of course."

Curiosity sinks in his chest when he looks at Mark. His eyebrows are drawn together softly. His face is still warm from practice. Donghyuck looks away.

"Sure," Donghyuck finally says. "I'll come, yeah."

“Donghyuck,” he hears from behind him. 

When he turns, he sees Sungchan staring at him, running his hand through his hair. 

“I thought you needed to call your mom?” He teases. 

Donghyuck holds up his middle finger and rolls his eyes.

—

What Donghyuck doesn't realize is that he's getting himself into an extremely long night full of tears and giggles and hugs and embraces.

Donghyuck can tell that Mark is getting closer by the minute. He started at the farthest end of the couch, somehow appearing in the middle when Chenle had left to grab the food that had been delivered. Then, only ten minutes later, Mark had ended up right at Donghyuck’s side when Renjun had jumped up to use the restroom.

When they make eye contact, all Donghyuck can do is offer the curvature of his upper lip, and then eventually, the other half of his blanket as they stretch out their legs on the ottoman in front of them. 

There’s no way for Donghyuck to tell what the hell Mark wants and why he’s trying to get this close to him, but the heat inside of Donghyuck’s chest is adoring the proximity of their bodies and the way they knock their knees together when Mark adjusts his position.

"So, I heard this movie was kind of scary," Mark bites on the flesh of his upper lip.

Everyone in the room stills. They  _ freeze _ . Even Jeno, who is in the middle of putting the movie in the DVD player, turns to look at him. 

"Mark," Donghyuck presses his lips together and pushes his two fingers into Mark's upper thigh until their eyes meet. "It's Shrek."

“Oh,” Mark blinks.

The room lights up with laughter. 

Mark’s cheek falls onto Donghyuck’s shoulder, and it heats up. It doesn’t leave. Not for almost the entire movie either. 

He stays close. He runs his fingers along the skin of Donghyuck’s thigh underneath the covers. Up and down. 

Donghyuck can't focus at all. He stares blankly at the screen in front of him, mouth drying as his sight blurs with need. Not once does Mark halt his movements. He's touching and scraping and burning his fingers into Donghyuck's leg. He's even doing it without realizing, Donghyuck begins to think. He's causing the blankets to shift, to pull away from their ankles until they're exposed to the air. Donghyuck finally lays his hand over Mark’s and brings them both to a still.

He spreads Mark’s fingers open and interlocks them, gripping onto Mark’s hand as the credits roll. 

An airy breath exits Mark's mouth. Only for them to hear.

“It was perfect,” Jisung speaks up. “Like, does anyone understand how much I love this movie?” 

His body comes up from where he was lying on the cloud of pillows on the floor, elbow digging into the side of the couch as he looks over at Jaemin. “You get it, right?”

“Oh, absolutely, Ji.”

Donghyuck loses interest in the conversation, though. Because Mark is grazing his thigh with their interlocked hands and it feels extraordinary and he can’t think of anything else. 

“You know,” Donghyuck swallows the shivery feeling at the back of his throat, taking a deep breath and raising his hands above his head to stretch. “I had fun guys, but I think I should head back. I’m exhausted after the long day we had.”

Mark’s hand falls from his thigh. The lack of touch has him pushing his leg out toward Mark. When their thighs meet, Mark freezes. He pays closer attention, hand stilling between their skin.

“You don’t wanna eat something? We were gonna... well, I don’t know what we were gonna do. I’m tired, too,” Jaemin adds with a yawn this time, resting his head in the crevasse of Renjun’s neck. “I’m tired but I won’t move, alright?”

The others scramble for a minute, starting small conversations about the movie, about practices, about the world. 

A yawn is present in the room, loud and repetitive out of Donghyuck's mouth until he's giving up and standing. He turns to get up from the couch and touches Mark's shoulder, bending down by his ear and making it so barely obvious as he whispers, "my room."

Then, when Donghyuck turns back to everyone else in the room, he grins.

"I'll talk to you guys tomorrow?" He asks, his voice cheerful.

Mark doesn’t answer at first. He sits there like he’s been struck in the chest. 

They’ve been touchy all night. 

For years, the both of them have been at each other’s throats and then nuzzled in each other’s necks. It’s common and overwhelming and sweet. Donghyuck wonders if he’s taking things a step too far by whispering near Mark’s ear, asking him into his bedroom, hoping that Mark’s hands will end up interlocked so hard with his by the time the sun rises. 

He swallows hard and grits his teeth when his mind brings his thoughts together. 

In his chest, his heart swells. To colors he didn't know existed. To sizes he never thought he would see.

Donghyuck almost doesn’t want to look at Mark because he fears that maybe Mark’s intentions lie somewhere else.

Maybe watching television in Mark’s bed was leading them somewhere else this entire time, all while shattering Donghyuck’s heart.

"Goodnight, Donghyuck," everyone calls from the couch.

Donghyuck says it back and ends up taking one last look at Mark before he shuts the door, nearly twisting his ankle as he rushes down the hall and back to his own bedroom. 

— 

When Mark knocks, it’s eleven forty-seven. 

Donghyuck's eyes are red and tired and a little wet, but he doesn't mind keeping himself awake to have a few conversations with Mark. 

"Hey," Mark grins. 

"Hey," Donghyuck huffs out a breath, reaching down to fix the part of Mark's pajama pants that is stuck in his sock. "You've got this all messed up down here."

Mark's mouth falls open, lips slick and eyes focused. He frowns when his eyebrows come together.

Donghyuck only notices it when he tilts back up at Mark from his crouched position on the floor. Mark lays his palm flat on Donghyuck's head, takes a couple strands of his hair and just rubs back and forth between his fingers, letting a grin cross over his face with a soft sigh. 

"What?" Donghyuck allows his eyes to close a little, just until they're slightly shut, until his eyelashes are closer together. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Mark presses the flat end of his palm back to Donghyuck's head again and just sighs. 

He keeps doing that. Like he's disappointed in him. 

Donghyuck isn't sure if he likes it, really. 

But when Mark shrugs, Donghyuck sees the spark of ignition that makes his insides burn to their melted goo—his relaxed state, his calm serenity. Mark pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and shakes his head. 

"Don't be alarmed, okay?" He tells Donghyuck. 

"At what? About what?" Donghyuck stands to his feet again, takes his hands and stretches them around his back awkwardly as he waits for Mark to reply. 

He doesn't really get one. Nothing more than arms around his waist and a body that slams into his, picking him right up off the floor and sending him straight for the bed. Donghyuck thinks it's a common instinct to wrap his legs around Mark's waist. He tucks his face into Mark's neck and lets himself be thrown onto the mattress, headboard slamming so hard against the wall that it causes the both of them to freeze. 

"Mark!" Donghyuck releases one hand from Mark's neck to twist his body, to look up at it—the dent. 

It's dark and bruised, like skin that's been kissed and sucked at. 

"No, no, it's fine, look," Mark says, letting go of Donghyuck's body to climb toward it. 

In fact, he nearly presses his knee to Donghyuck's ribs to touch it.

Mark licks at his fingers and drags it against the wall. 

Donghyuck, who lies with his back flat on the mattress, shakes his head a few times and the presses his fist between Mark's collarbones, just rolling his eyes and groaning at him, urging him to come to a stop. Mark is just being Mark. He's hilarious, he's making Donghyuck laugh while he's in bed like this, while he's hovered over him, and it's all too genuine. Donghyuck's heart is squeezing together.

“Gross.”

When Mark finally looks down at him, Donghyuck cocks an eyebrow up, still messing with the single button on Mark's pajama shirt. 

"What did you want?" He asks. 

"With what? You invited me."

Donghyuck rolls his eyes first before Mark chuckles, licking his lips and waiting for Donghyuck to continue.

"All of this," Donghyuck scoots up on the bed until he's up against his blankets. "You've been so close to me, trying to touch me, and always wanting to be over. I'm just curious."

_ You're making me want to do things and I need to know what you're up to.  _

"I told you," Mark sits upright next to him, legs crossed and eyes wide open next to him. "I wanna spend more time with you.”

There's a roll in Donghyuck's chest. 

Usually Mark's words cheer him up. They hit dead center and inflate a grin to his cheeks. Ever since they were young, Mark's words were always making Donghyuck want to roll onto his side and chomp down on his lip until he was giggling behind his parted fingers, laughter spewing past his hand.

Now he feels choked by them.

Every word that leaves Mark's mouth sounds strange. Every word carries a slight cold sensation and has Donghyuck shivering. It's as though Donghyuck is standing in a silent room and Mark is yelling at him, but he cannot hear any of it. 

"Hyung," Donghyuck whispers with passionate eyes, with lips that are dangerously set into a pout. "I want that too, that’s why I encouraged it that night. But we are always together. I just don't get what you mean."

Mark hangs his head low. 

It's defeat, written clear as day, in fine ink. In dark red ink. A color that Donghyuck hates writing in. Something that he doesn't want to read from Mark. 

"Tell me," Donghyuck pleads from him. 

Mark looks up, eyes coursing back through Donghyuck's, begging for him to understand before Mark has even spoken. 

"Would you ever, try, with me?"

Over Donghyuck's expression is stone. He stares at Mark as though he is looking at someone he's never seen before in the course of his entire life. 

He would have expected Mark to have played around some more, taken the ends of his hair to tug on them until he became sore. He would expect a slap to his arm, a grip on his calf, or an explicit string of words about how the day  _ really fucking sucks and Donghyuck, we should go get drinks.  _

But this is unexpected. 

_ This is Mark laid out completely.  _

Every piece of him vulnerable, every emotion raw and shown as if he has nothing to hide. This is Mark who Donghyuck has known for years, Mark who has failed severely in front of him, who has hidden his weak sides for never wanting to look bad. This is Mark who was begging to hide in his room when he was caught with an alcohol bottle, Mark who goes on adventures with him, who still asks Donghyuck to pour his juice for him.

This is Mark. Someone that Donghyuck knows and continues to learn day by day.

Regardless of the boy that Donghyuck has grown up with, Donghyuck is staring at him like he has no idea who he is. __

"Mark," Donghyuck whispers. "Try what?"

There's a gloss over his eyes. It's faint, but it's there, and Donghyuck can't ignore it no matter how hard he tries. 

"Never mind," Mark is quick to say.

"No, no no," Donghyuck swallows hard, his heart dropping into his stomach. "You don't get to do that. Mark, tell me what you meant, please."

_ Tell me that you want me the way I want you.  _ That the touches mean everything that they do.

He half expects Mark to book it out of the room. To take off back to his own bed. He expects him to tuck himself under the sheets and call it a night. But Mark shakes his head and just stares at Donghyuck, lets his eyes flicker between the distressed look on Donghyuck's face. 

They've argued and bickered and rolled their eyes at each other. But they've come across touches and close beating hearts and hands in each other's hair. It's inevitable, for them to fall until their hearts catch a similar rhythm.

"Would you ever try to be with me," Mark forces out. "That's what I meant."

He's smashing his lips together with his teeth.

Donghyuck uses his thumb to tap at his chin. 

"Don't," he whispers with no expression. "It's gonna hurt tomorrow."

Mark releases his lips almost instantly. As soon as Donghyuck touches his skin, he's leaning forward toward it and following the instruction of not biting against it.

Only then does Mark catch onto Donghyuck's hands, stumbling forward to hold them, to thumb over the back of his palm as he finally meets his eyes. The confidence boost has Donghyuck gasping slightly, wanting to sink down onto the mattress. 

"Be with you?" Donghyuck repeats, just to make sure he's hearing Mark correctly. "Like, as in like—"

"—yeah. Like that."

Donghyuck cracks a grin. 

"Mark," he chuckles. "I didn't even say anything yet."

Mark doesn't follow his grin. He frowns this time, and it sends a shock right to the center of Donghyuck's chest. It burns.

For so many years, Donghyuck has pushed and pulled with Mark. He's yanked at his collar and watched Mark roll his eyes when Donghyuck had deliberately messed with him. He's watched Mark drop everything to make sure that Donghyuck had extra time in order to nail in their choreography.

Mark has been here, at an arm's length, but so far away that Donghyuck never imagined he would open himself up to press his heart right up against his own.

"Ever since I met you," Mark starts.

Mark's mouth is moving, and Donghyuck is thinking, Oh Fuck. Here He Goes.

This is a confession.

He's admitting that he's in love, that his heart is pumping only for him, that his mind only thinks thoughts for Donghyuck. That he dreams of cuddling with him and kissing him when they stay close at night.

"Mark, wait—" Donghyuck has to stop himself.

But no other words leave his mouth. It's only the twitching of his lips and what feels like sweat building at his cupid's bow.

Mark, like Donghyuck asks, waits.

"Are you about to tell me you're in love with me?" Donghyuck asks, fucks it up, feels his chest spin and tighten.

Mark stares and squints and then furrows his eyebrows at the distress planted on the warm cheeks of Donghyuck's face. He shakes his head and scoots his face back. He’s observing. He’s trying to read every single emotion on Donghyuck’s face without touching him. 

Maybe it’s too much. Too quick. 

"Oh, hold on," Mark licks his lips and flickers his eyes between Donghyuck's. "You know that I love you, I always have, but it's like... wait, like... dude, hold on. That's not what I was gonna say at all."

Then Mark is tugging his lip back between his teeth and planting them down hard. He displays a look of distress across his face and blinks rapidly at Donghyuck. Almost a second later, Donghyuck reaches forward and thumbs at the spot underneath his chin again, leading his finger toward his lip. 

"Mark," he whispers louder this time. 

Mark lets his lip go, sucking in a breath when Donghyuck touches his hands to his skin. 

Before letting him go, Mark grips onto his wrist and just holds, letting his finger graze against the pulse he feels right at Donghyuck's wrist. The grin on his face is genuine yet somber. Mark almost whimpers. Donghyuck knows his chest is close to bursting, too. 

"That's a big step forward, Donghyuck," Mark admits. "I was just trying to ask you, like, out. Like, well, I mean... first I was trying to see if you'd ever be into... me, or you know, that stuff. But you—"

"—Oh god, Mark. We're terrible at this. Fuck. I shouldn't have said a word."

Donghyuck lets his hand drift away from Mark's until he's letting his body droop into the sheets. 

The awkwardness between them isn't unusual. It's Mark. It's Donghyuck. It's both of them stirred together, half sitting, half lying in Donghyuck's bed on a windy evening when the sky is too dark to enjoy the moon or the stars. When Donghyuck smiles at him, Mark caves and chuckles, becomes weak under the eyes of Donghyuck, the laughter of his best friend and soon bites on his lip and suffers the scolding full on. 

"Fuck," Mark whispers this time. 

The word sticks like glue in Donghyuck's throat. 

His expression twists, no longer simple. Mark's posture isn't lazy, he isn't digging his elbows into his knees, but his eyebrows are furrowed and he's breathing heavier, with more intention to do something. 

Donghyuck wants whatever he has to offer. 

He wants to hear it. Wants to feel it. Wants to taste it. 

Every word Mark is about to confess, or say, or even every laugh he is about to exhale, Donghyuck wants to soak in it. 

"I want you so bad," Mark's eyes are glossed over, they're half closed, and his eyebrows are drawn in like he's taking a deep breath.

_ Now would be the time to tell him you want him. Now would be the time to reply, to graze his cheek and talk about how many years you've craved his touch,  _ Donghyuck thinks. 

But with a dry throat and shaky hands, all he can do is nod his head. 

"Yeah?" Donghyuck whispers. 

The smile at the corner of his lips is enough for Mark to blush. 

His cheeks have become crimson red. The color climbs up his neck and bites at his earlobes. He's beautiful like this. 

Mark nods his head back and forth, practically gasping when Donghyuck tilts forward.

"I do. I seriously want to try it," Donghyuck answers him. 

"Try what?" 

Mark seems a little out of it. The features on his face are tight and his ears are red. There's nothing keeping him from hiding his face, but he shows it with no fear, he opens his chest up for Donghyuck and displays his heart out in the open, lets him view it like he's examining it for the first time. 

"Being with you," Donghyuck feeds his fingers back through Mark's hair. "Like you said."

"Like I said," Mark repeats, staring up at Donghyuck. 

He looks gone. 

His eyes are warm, and Donghyuck is soaking in them. Donghyuck is swimming in his eyes, his own insides are becoming hotter as he cards his fingers through the length of Mark's hair.

"Like you said," Donghyuck repeats, scooting closer until he extends his knees and until he has lifted himself up, cradling Mark's face, appearing so much taller than him. "Like you said, Mark."

Quicker than Donghyuck can even recognize, Mark's arm comes circling around his waist, pulling him tight until Mark's nose is deep near his belly, until his cheek is pressed to his core. 

Then he's giggling and holding Mark's head tighter. 

"Mark," Donghyuck hums. 

He lets his knees drop until he's slouching against the pillows again. 

But for Mark, it's too far. So, he's reaching for Donghyuck, coming closer and closer until Donghyuck playfully retracts himself. 

He doesn't seem to get far because Donghyuck is trapped under Mark's arm, his thigh, and then is looking over at Mark and loosening every muscle when he grins at him. 

"Kiss me," Donghyuck smirks up at him, rubbing his calf against the blankets, feeling his heart melt with the feeling of Mark's hands that come around his waist. 

Maybe the sensation inside of Donghyuck's stomach is like a rope being knotted together. Maybe it's meant to drag him closer to Mark, to tie them together until they're breathing the same air, until they're losing their breaths with each other. It’s meant to be the two of them lost between the sheets and hiding the blushes behind their fingers, biting on their lips and scolding each other for doing so. 

But Mark doesn't hesitate now. 

When Donghyuck stares at his lips, his gut twists. 

It's an awful time for him to make the realization that this is Mark Lee. His best friend. 

His best friend who he's about to kiss. 

"You're a million times so pretty," Donghyuck whispers as he hooks his fingers around the nape of Mark's neck. 

Mark's lips are stained red, his cheeks are blush-dyed, and there's a silky touch to his skin. His eyes are round and dark, hiding color and warmth behind the buckets of emotion that they're about to spill. His teeth are white and straight, and Donghyuck flushes when he realizes that he's been staring at his mouth for far too long. He's embarrassed as he looks at Mark because his heart is pounding, his mind is racing, and there's no way Mark isn't going to end up his.

His stomach is tight, his ears ring. Donghyuck shivers. 

"I've dreamed of this," Mark says after him, only blinking at the compliment that Donghyuck gives him, lowering his body to disappear from the eyesight, falling into his neck to whisper against the skin of Donghyuck's collar. "You're cute, too, by the way."

But Donghyuck's hands light into flames.

They crave to touch against the beating part of Mark's chest, or the curved part of his hips. They want to feel skin and fading brilliance, thirsting for the burning of skin against his own. 

"You dream about me, huh?" Donghyuck cranes his neck backward. 

Mark kisses his throat. 

The access is enchanting, Mark fits perfectly, moving swiftly across until his head lifts, until his cheek presses harshly to Donghyuck's, until they're breathing so hard that one false move would send them both into a whirlwind of emotions, mouths finally meeting in what they've been wanting. 

With no reason to avoid it, Donghyuck takes his hand and presses it firm against Mark's chest, pushing him right off of Donghyuck's body, just until he's leaning on his own part of the bed again.

He sits up and crosses his legs. 

"Where are you going?" Mark falls on his back, sounding defeated. 

The pounding in Donghyuck's throat hasn't left. The spot where Mark had kissed is still burning, and every time he thinks about it, his heart inflates. 

"Come here," Donghyuck pats the spot in front of him. 

Mark follows. 

He sits right in front of Donghyuck, their knees bumping together so swiftly. 

"You wanted to ask me out," he says matter-of-factly. 

Mark blinks. 

"Yeah."

"Well, we were about to kiss and I—"

"—No, no, hold on," Mark squints at him, hand placed on both of their knees. "You told me to kiss you, so I thought we—"

"—Well, I don't know! I thought it felt like the right move. You want to, don't you?"

"Oh, you know I do," Mark rolls his eyes and gives Donghyuck an irritated look. 

This time, Mark doesn't say another word. He smirks and  _ stares.  _

"I don't know," Donghyuck says with a dramatic sigh. "Maybe we should just go to bed and—"

His neck stings. 

Only slightly, though. 

Because Mark grasps the back of it so quickly that it burns. He's hauling Donghyuck off of the bed and moving him to the dresser, his back digging into the handles there. His feet plant on the floor and he's dribbling out laughter while his body is still trying to catch up to the awkward posture it's in. None of it matters, really, because Mark is kissing the fuck out of him. His knee is between Donghyuck's legs and Donghyuck thinks that he is moments from dropping to the floor with wobbly knees.

"The bed," he gasps into Mark's mouth, finally getting a sense for everything and gripping onto Mark's hair, "the bed was right there. You really had to take me all the way over here?"

Mark bites at his lip. 

When Donghyuck gets mad at him for doing it on his own lip, he'll bite on Donghyuck's. 

Fair.

Donghyuck runs his hands up underneath Mark's shirt, feeling his muscles contract upon being touched. Mark grips and holds like he craves touch, like his ultimate wish is to be loved for every single piece of himself. 

Donghyuck feels it in his touches, senses it in the way he kisses. 

It's all written there for him to drink in. 

But the way Mark kisses is something that Donghyuck never really expected. It's light and long, careful, and he kisses like he's filling in the gaps, all the spaces. It's the sweetest thing, but Donghyuck doesn't want to interrupt the way their lips are smacking together to tell him that, because he's going to ruin it for the millionth time. Regardless, Mark touches and kisses like nothing Donghyuck has felt before. 

"Come here," Donghyuck whispers against him, pushing him back and back and back until Mark's calves hit the mattress. 

Mark's mouth slowly opens, and when it does, Donghyuck pictures his own heart turning billions of different colors, igniting into flames and then bursting into stars that light his chest into a beautifully lit night sky. 

The time moves forward, but their hands stay intertwined. Donghyuck climbs over Mark's lap and sits close to him, using the gestures of his lips to speak to him. 

Mark is against him. 

The lights are low.

It's cold. 

But nothing feels warmer than the sense of their skin touching, their teeth simply knocking together when they lean back on the bed. 

They're not used to this, but nothing happens in an orderly way. No one has a script for their life or for the exact hours in their days. Maybe for the schedules they have, or for when they need to practice, but no one gets to say the words that Donghyuck does. No one gets to tell Mark whether he can or cannot whimper against Donghyuck's neck or scrape his fingernails harder into his hair when Donghyuck sucks a hickey onto the center of his chest.

"I'm going to kick you out in about four minutes," Donghyuck kisses underneath Mark's chin. 

He says it so gently while he's stroking the outside of Mark's arm that Mark hardly even notices. 

Until he sits upright. 

"You're gonna—No. Wait, why? What?"

Donghyuck sits up with him, lips bruised and eyes tired. 

"It's almost two in the morning, Mark," he's shirtless. Yeah. "You're exhausted. Johnny said he'd be back by three. You wanna take me out on a date, and we skipped right to the part where we kiss like fucking crazy."

Mark blushes intensely at that. He runs his hand over his own face and then rubs the tip of his thumb over the corner of Donghyuck's mouth. He wipes a little, complaining about how Donghyuck appears to be covered in drool. 

"So what we skipped a little."

"So ask me out," Donghyuck shrugs his shoulders like it's an obvious statement.

Mark grabs at the stretched out collar of Donghyuck's shirt and pulls him until Donghyuck hovers over him. 

"Fine, Donghyuck, will you be my boyfriend?"

Donghyuck goes wide eyed. 

"I meant—I meant out on a date, Mark!"

Mark freezes. 

"Oh."

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> here is my [twt](https://twitter.com/h_a_e_c_h)


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